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Out of the Past
(1947)
A MAN -
Trying to run away from his past... A WOMAN - Trying to escape
her future!
Director: Jacques Tourneur, rated Approved
  Starring:
Robert Mitchum, Jean Greer, Kirk Douglas, Rhonda Fleming, Paul Valentine, Dickie
Moore, Richard Webb, Steve Brodie, Virginia Huston, Ken Niles
DML Rating:
★★★★★★★★★☆
- near perfect
"I used to sit there
half asleep with a beer in the darkness, only the music from the
movie next door kept jarring me awake. And then I saw her -
coming out of the sun. And I knew why Whit didn't care about
that 40 grand." -
Jeff (voice-over)
Why watch this? If
you want to see a film that encapsulates film noir, this
is it.
Plot Summary:
A retired private eye, operating a quiet small-town gas station,
is abruptly tracked down by his former boss and forced to take
on one last job. He is quickly drawn back into a dangerous web
of deceit, double-crosses, and murder orchestrated by said boss
and a seductive femme fatale. As past secrets resurface, the
investigator must navigate a desperate, high-stakes game of
survival where loyalties are constantly tested and nobody can be
trusted.
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Dad's Preview:
There are many great crime noir films from the 40's and 50's.
This one is a cut above, mostly because it embodies every aspect
of the genre so completely: a guy running from his past, the
voice-over narration, an irresistible femme fatale, the dark,
shadowy world of crime. Add to the formula two adversaries and a
woman between them, all portrayed by Hollywood's greatest stars
in Mitchum, Douglas and stunning Jean Greer. Then put them into
a complicated plot full of lust and betrayal. This is one of
noir's best. It was loosely remade in 1984's neo-noir film,
Against All
Odds, starring Jeff Bridges, James Woods and Rachel
Ward.
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Warren Duff; RKO
Radio Pictures |
